Shadows of Doom: Night of the Hunter
by Jason de L'Epee
Summary: Mystic Ruins is a feeding ground. Within the past month, mysterious deaths in Mystic Ruins have been fueling fear within nearby Sapphire City, and rumors of the culprit outnumber the reports themselves. Sonic, Tails and Shadow, already in Sapphire City.
1. Prologue

**SHADOWS OF DOOM: NIGHT OF THE HUNTER**

By _Jason de L'Epee_

**FOREWARD:** After concluding the three "Great Adventure" fanfics, I found that it is time to start telling the story arch revolving a mysterious find that was introduced in _The Great Adventure 2: Revenge of the Shadow_ and explored in _The Great Adventure 3: The Flames of Solaris_. Inevitable questions from the third installment of the "Great Adventure" trilogy will begin to be answered in the newest trilogy, _Shadows of Doom_. To get a grip on where this story falls within the grand scheme, it happens literally the day after that _The Fall…and Back Again 2_ ends. This is also my first attempt to making an action/horror genre fanfic, but hopefully lighter on the cheese. As a consequence of this being a horror, I have taken the liberty to take studying upon the nature

This fic is rated T for Teen:

Violence

Blood Depiction

Mild Language

A few refreshers and revelations:

Shadow over the past few years has regained his memory after losing it after his "death" during the ARK incident. He was nursed back to health by Big the Cat, and after regaining some memory, Shadow took off north to find Sonic. This was covered in The Fall…and Back Again. In more recent events, he remembered Maria as well.

Before that, Shadow and Sonic, while fighting the Biolizard, had discovered the source of the Biolizard's power, embedded in its life-support. While they did not know what it was, they sensed that it was evil. However, it fell with the Biolizard after it was destroyed. It was presumed destroyed with the Biolizard's corpse.

The Chaotix are beginning to form a detective business in Echidnaopolis on Angel Island. By the time this story takes place, it has been only two months within operation.

The Guardian Unit of Nations, G.U.N., often hires bounty hunters when dealing with situations outside normal boundaries of human peacekeeping. These deals are often kept under wraps and away from the ever-prying noses of the colonial bureaucracy.

**DISCLAIMER:** Sonic and all other related characters are copywrited to SEGA and Sonic Team © 1991-2011. Any additional characters have been conceived by the author for the use by the author only. Events told are based on the video game series and various other media, and are considered non-canon to the original events told by the games and other media; therefore, events told in this work should not be used to explain unanswered questions presented by the original game or media stories.

This story by the author should not be reproduced electronically. Copies of the fictional piece can be found on and under the name of the author himself and himself only.

**PROLOGUE:-**

_Pray to your god, open your heart__  
__Whatever you do, don't be afraid of the dark__  
__Cover your eyes, the devil's inside__  
__One night of the hunter__  
__One day I will get revenge__  
__One night to remember__  
__One day it'll all just end_

-Night of the Hunter, 30 Seconds to Mars ©2009

No moon tonight looked down upon the dark steaming jungles of the Mystic Ruins, collectively known as the Forests of Indra. Once these jungles held a magnificent civilization, an empire that encompassed most of the Western continent, but the mighty race had been swallowed up, and its grand empire reclaimed by the forests. Nightly the doleful noises of the forest creatures would greet the rising moon, but tonight the darkness was thick as the night sky held no moon. Mists as thick as cold stew rose up beneath the canopies, hiding whatever roamed the jungles tonight…

Tonight was the night of the hunter.

Shots rang out through the darkness, shattering the nighttime resonance of the jungle. Mere moments later a figure tore through the underbrush at a frenzied run, his eyes bulging and drenched in sweat. Running blindly, he slipped on the wet green undergrowth but clambers back to his feet as if he would die if he stayed there. One could feel his thudding heart as adrenalin raged through his veins like water, and his terror was just as contagious.

The man, an explorer of the Mystic Ruins expeditions, had gotten separated from his scouting party earlier that day, and had been wandering the forests until well into night. Now he was running for his life from something so terrible that his brain was assaulted by the madness of pure fear. The scouting expeditions were somber, and each one carried a firearm, although many didn't know why. Tonight, the lost man now knew why.

Again he slipped, falling into the enormous leaves of a philodendron. The fall dislodged a firearm from his hands, sending it into the thick underbrush, lost to all eyes. There, the man hid, whimpering like a lost puppy. Despite the fact he could not see at all in the jungle, he wouldn't dare use his flashlight. The flashlight was a beacon, leading it to him. That creature. There was no way that God in heaven could have created such a monster. It had sniffed him out, and was seeking to devour him. He couldn't even shout for help. The monster would hear him. He was all alone, left to be food.

A hiss broke the silence of the jungle, and the man jumped. It was coming, coming closer. It was tracking him, sniffing him out! The man dashed away again, stumbling through the darkness as his lungs ached for air. He had no idea where he was going, but his blind fear drove him to run, always run.

He could hear no noise but the sound of his own frantic footsteps, but he knew. He knew that the creature was sniffing him out like a pack of hounds to the fox. There was no escape, but he kept running. It could even be in the shadows just to his left or right. He was hunted, and he was food for it.

He tripped again, falling flat on his front. He tried to get up, only to find that his feet were now hopelessly entangled in thick lush vines. He was trapped. The prey was caught. He tried to vainly free himself, but he could not.

Another hiss, closer, following by slow dull thumps as the creature drew closer. The hunter was coming. It has smelled its feast. He could feel its evil already upon him. He knew he would regret it, but he whipped out his flashlight and turned it on. For one brief moment, he looked into the face of his devourer.

As the air was split with a terrified piercing scream, the birds of the forest took to the sky as the scream dissolved into silence for the final time.

It was feeding time.

**CHAPTER 1: Drinking Game**


	2. Chapter 1: Gumshoes

**CHAPTER 1: Gumshoes  
**

* * *

Shadow jolted awake as a clap of thunder split the early morning sky. Looking around wildly, he took in his surroundings for anything out of the ordinary. Nothing in the hotel room looked out of place. He could see Sonic sleeping in a sleeping bag near the other bed in the room, while Tails slept on the bed itself. Shadow willed his beating heart to slow down as he listened to the rain pour outside the window.

Along with Sonic and Tails and their respective chao Dash and Frosty, Shadow had come south to Sapphire City for a summer getaway, or so Sonic kept calling it. Tails actually came down to get more research upon his newest project: a new Tornado. Shadow couldn't help but smile to himself when he remembered the incredibly cheesy name Tails had originally came up with.

Another rumble of thunder rolled through the sky outside, causing Sonic to stir nearby. Mumbling something unintelligible, the blue hedgehog turned over in bed and continued to snooze the new day away. Shadow didn't know that Sonic talked in his sleep, and he assumed that wasn't a trait that Sonic was too eager to share.

Despite this nice distraction, he quickly sobered up. He had another nightmare tonight. Instead of a tormenting flashback of his newly-regained past, he got a different dream. He had hoped the nightmares would stop after he remembered his past and Maria, but now a new shadow of the night had descended. What kind of madness out there was out to torment his nights? He gazed at the small bauble that had once belonged to Maria, which had supernaturally materialized in his hand when he visited a gravestone in the Sapphire City cemetery. Blinking back a tear, he couldn't help but wonder if Maria knew about his nightmares, and was asking whatever God she had loved about them.

He shook these thoughts out of his head. This was no way to start a morning, he figured, but yet couldn't get the new nightmare out of his head. He needed some privacy to think about last night. He got up silently, not wanting to wake the others as he slipped on his hover-shoes. He picked up one of the card keys and looked at it briefly, hoping that the other when they woke wouldn't mind his unannounced disappearance. Avoiding the shoebox-slash-beds of the chao, he gingerly made his way to the door and slipped out.

Sometime later, he sat down on a chair under an awning just outside Sunset Resort, watching the rain pour and the lightning flicker. Thunderstorms weren't uncommon in Sapphire Bay, particularly in the summer; however, that wasn't what was bothering Shadow. His nightmare was troubling, but not in its spirit of fear, but in its mystery. Unlike his previous nightmares, the new nightmare seems to have no form of embodiment. Shadow got impressions, sensations of fear and evil, yet saw nothing. However, it felt terrible, as if he would never be cheerful again. It gnawed at him like a worm. He wasn't sure what was more disturbing: reliving a tormented past, or fearing the unknown.

Could he tell someone about this new night apparition? How could he? He might as well tell someone he was afraid of the dark, as it seemed to all ignorant eyes that this dream seemed to be just that. Would Sonic understand? Sonic was a double-edged sword when it came to confiding in him, Shadow had observed. Sonic was more often than not faster of mouth then feet and usually had trouble taking things seriously. He had observed Sally, the leader of the former Knothole Freedom Fighters, expressing her exasperation of Sonic's behavior frequently. On the other hand, there were times that Sonic expressed unforeseen amounts of maturity. Sonic was approaching seventeen years of age, so maybe his maturity was starting to bloom. Shadow wondered if there was someone else to talk to. Had he been back in Knothole, he would have had someone to talk to, but down here, it was just Sonic, Tails and a city full of strangers. 'Twas hardly compelling company to talk to.

Shadow weighed his options: he could tell Sonic and deal with only a risk of being belittled by taunts, or button it up and bear with the suffering on his own. Neither one sounded like a pleasant choice. On one hand, he would have to bear his pain in silence. That was a mark of character, he was told once, but even then, the mind can only take so much. On the other hand, he could be burnt with Sonic's trademark tongue of fire. Either one sounded like it would hurt, and Shadow imagined that he had been through enough pain, particularly over the past week.

He was so lost in his thoughts that he didn't even realize that the thunder and rain had abated and the clouds were beginning to break up to reveal the blue morning sky. Only until the noise of the morning rush hour traffic building in his ears did his train of thought derail. He relented to go back inside and join the others, annoyed that he hadn't come to a decision on what to do about his dream before being interrupted.

Hopefully the nightmare will be a one-time thing, he began to hope. Maybe it was just the stress that was still trying to get out of his system from the last round of nightmares. Now that he thought about it, there could be many legitimate reasons why he had it. They had pizza last night, and Sonic joked that even pizza that late would cause freaky dreams.

He took his time to get back to the hotel room, stopping once in a while to look out any window he came across at to enjoy the view. Despite the rude awakening by the thunderstorm, the city seemed to go at it as if nothing had ever happened. He knew that a thunderstorm was hardly a reason for a city to go to a standstill, yet seeing the city go on so made him feel at peace, at least for the moment. He would have to think about that more later.

In due process of time, he eventually came back to the hotel room. Before he could swipe his key, his ears picked up a soft bustle in the room. He guessed that the others had gotten up and were wondering where he was, at least mildly. Right there and then he decided to not share his burden of a dream to avoid being scoffed. He swiped the key, heard the lock click and slowly entered the room.

Quite contrary to the situation of the room he left, the lights were on, Sonic and Tails were looking over a menu while the two chao were goggling at the TV. Sonic looked up when he heard the door open and saw Shadow. "Hey, Shads! Where did you go?"

"Downstairs," Shadow said automatically.

"What the heck for?" Sonic asked.

Shadow was all too aware of Sonic's insisting of being in the know as it were, so he made up an excuse. "To watch the rain outside."

"What, the window wasn't good enough for you?"

"We're on the seventh floor, Sonic," Tails cut in. If you look out the window, you could barely see any rain. Was it raining last night? I guess I slept through it."

"So, Shads," Sonic asked, holding out a copy of the menu. "You want some breakfast?"

Shadow took the menu wordlessly and began to look over it. Most of the pictured dishes were extravagantly prepared, containing at least three breakfast entrees. There was even the option to "build your own" breakfast if the special entrees didn't appeal to the customers' respective palettes. Shadow couldn't help but wonder how one was able to choose breakfast quickly when given this many options. Glancing over, he saw that Sonic had already chosen his breakfast and was "patiently" waiting for Tails and everyone else to decide.

Shadow couldn't decide. Nothing looked better than any other. He had to wonder how Sonic was able to choose so quickly. Before he could ask, Sonic noticed him. "What's up, Shads? Print too small?"

"No," Shadow replied, ignoring the joke. "I…can't decide what to get."

Sonic laughed. "That's all? Come on, Shads, it's not rocket science."

Tails piped in. "Well, Sonic. I know some days I have no idea what to eat. That's kind of what I like about eating back in Knothole: less choices to choose from."

"Pft, whatever." Sonic blew it off. "I just go with whatever looks good."

"I'm afraid that's not very helpful, Sonic." Shadow set down the menu.

"How so?"

Shadow replied plainly. "Because everything on this looks good."

It was Tails' turn to laugh. "I can see how that can be a problem."

"Then it looks like it's time for an intervention!" Sonic dove rather over-dramatically for the menu that Shadow had just set aside, and scooped it up. "Don't worry, citizens. I'm a trained professional." Whipping the menu open, Sonic took on a whole new persona. "Now, Shadow. Are you stumped on your choice for a nice balanced breakfast? Are you searching for that perfect succulent meal to start off your day? Then don't touch the remote! We are here to help you! I said don't touch that remote!"

Dash jumped and put down the remote. "Sorry!"

"As I was saying, there are several methods. The most common and often preferred method is the close-eyed point method! This can be done in different ways. Some merely close their eyes then point. Others may spin a few times to give themselves a less biased choice. Allow me to demonstrate." Sonic snapped his eyes closed and began to spin in a circle. However, his hammed up performance had sent him into a euphoric high, so when he began spinning, he spun very quickly. Dash had to duck from a flying limb held captive by centrifugal inertia, while the others watched affixed. Sonic's spinning quickly became erratic, and finally his legs intertwined with each other, sending him down hard between the two beds in the room. The other occupants slowly peered down into the space between the beds, just as Sonic's voice floated back up. "That concludes…our broadcast day," Sonic slurred.

Tails and the two chao looked at Shadow, who returned, "I see. I think I have just decided what to order now."

"Good!" Dash peered down again. "'cause I don't think he can walk anymore."

Sonic's voice drifted up again. "I'll have some…Cocoa Puffs."

* * *

Mighty feverishly inserted a phone cord into a telephone port, silently pleading with the technology gremlins to let this work this time. The Chaotix had kick-started their new detective agency in downtown Echidnaopolis, and instead of getting a grand opening with cases, they got the case of the technology gremlins where nothing would seem to work for them. The newest rebelling tech was the phone, which for some reason had quit working.

After a couple hours of being torn apart and all over the make-shift desk, Mighty had reconstructed it and hoped it would work now. Vector the Crocodile hovered over him from behind the newly cleared desk with sweat drops of his own, despite his cold-blooded nature. "Think it will work this time?"

"I certainly hope so," Mighty growled. Unhappily he continued, "We should've got Tails to fix this stuff for us. He's got the brains for it. I'm better at cars."

"Well, I would have called Tails, but the phone wasn't working," Vector said matter-of-factly.

Mighty made an involuntary twitch. "Yeah, I guessed I walked right into that one, didn't I?"

"Totally."

Mighty stood up, rubbing his creaking back as he stretched to ease out the cramps. "Well, now we have to wait about twenty-four hours to see if it works. Or so the manual says."

"Great." The crocodile sighed.

"I can't exactly help it on my end."

Vector grunted. "You'd think this town would be swimming in cases for private detectives."

"Hey, it's only been, what, two months?" Mighty said. "We only got our licenses to snoop a month before. Have we even got the channels set up with the police yet?"

"You know how it is with government-run organizations, Mighty." Vector continued, making quotation marks with his fingers. "'We'll get to you promptly in a couple of decades.'"

"Huh, good point."

"Until then, we're up the river without a paddle."

Vector looked perfectly impudent while sitting behind the desk—more accurately an altar from an old parish. Mighty merely looked at Vector, trying to make sense of his mixed metaphors. The atmosphere grew more awkward as neither moved from their positions.

Finally, Mighty cleared his throat. "Well, I don't know about you, but I'm going to—"

The phone rang obnoxiously on the desk, causing both the armadillo and crocodile to nearly jump out of their socks with a yell. Charmy and Espio peeped in from an adjacent room when they heard the cry, apparently interrupting a game of UNO. "Oh, the phone works. Awesome." Charmy said.

Mighty and Vector were still petrified from their adrenaline wash while their eyes bulged out towards the chameleon and the bee. The phone rang again. To their credit, they managed to stay on the ground.

"Hey, I don't mean to break up the fun, but are you guys going to answer that?" Espio said casually.

The phone rang a third time and Vector dove for it, nearly knocking over the chair behind the desk on the way. Snatching it up, he spoke quickly into it. "Hello? Chaotix Defective Agency!"

Mighty put his head into his hands, while Espio and Charmy bit their lips to keep from laughing.

Vector didn't speak again barring affirming remarks to the person on the other end of the line, while the others forgot about the crocodile's misspeak and listened in. Espio wished they had a second phone so he could listen into this phone call properly; there was only so much one could get from half of a conversation. After a minute of that, Vector finally offered parting valedictions and hung up the phone.

"So, who was that?" Mighty ventured for the group.

"Someone is coming in to stop by. He wouldn't talk about it over the phone, but he was dodgy about it."

"Ooh, intrigue!" Espio said sarcastically.

"Not even a hint about what it's about?" Charmy asked.

"Not even the slightest." Vector shrugged. "Guess that means it's incredibly important."

"Or completely embarrassing," Mighty added.

There was a murmur of consent to Mighty's point shared among the Chaotix.

"Well, did he at least say when he's stopping by?" Espio asked.

"A few minutes."

Charmy looked around the mess of papers, tools and all the rest. "Shouldn't we clean up?"

"Try, you mean?" Espio corrected.

"We gotta start sometime!" Charmy shot back.

"True, I suppose."

"Well, if we're gonna clean up, we'd better start now." Vector shot an open hand towards Mighty. "Let's start with the papers. Give me some."

Fifteen minutes of sorting and rushed cleaning went by before all activity ceased with a small rap on the door. Charmy buzzed over to answer the door. "Yes?"

"Is this the Chaotix Detective Agency?" a voice drifted in while the other listened.

"Yup!" Charmy said cheerfully. "Come on in!"

Charmy opened the door to let in an older brown-furred spider monkey wearing spectacles and an aged business suit. The only other dominating feature was a long prehensile tail that stayed in a curl behind the monkey. Despite the nature of his species, he carried a nonsensical aura about him as if his sense of humor died quite some time ago. He looked around the room with a masked expression. Espio studied him, and felt somewhat offended by the monkey's attitude. Apparently, this client found the Chaotix Agency of a different expectation to say the least.

"Ahem," the monkey started, with a cultured tongue. "Who was the nervous chap I talked to just a few minutes ago?"

"Uh, that would be me." Vector held out a hand. "I'm Vector the Crocodile, I'm the leader of the Chaotix."

The monkey politely shook it. "Yes. I'm Reginald Abernathy. I come in behalf of the Joint Historical Society of West Mobius, headquartered in Sapphire City. We represent the preservation of historical regions for human and Mobian interests."

The Chaotix shared a glance. Much as Mr. Abernathy here wasn't expecting the Chaotix to be whom they are, the Chaotix didn't expect a client from a historical society either.

"Would you like to sit down?" Vector asked, waving towards Mighty. Mighty got the hint and pulled up a chair.

"Thank you…Mr. Crocodile." Mr. Abernathy promptly sat, weaving his tail through the gap in the chair with unforeseen grace.

"What can we do for you, Mr. Abernathy?"

"Doubtless you have been hearing of the unsettling disappearances that have been happening in the forests around the Mystic Ruins, correct?"

The Chaotix glanced at each other again. Despite the fact they were in Echidnaopolis, the Mystic Ruins were of Echidnaen interest, so the news and gossip about recent events within it had infected Angel Island like the plague. "Nothing terribly concrete, but yes, we have heard of some events down there."

Charmy cut in. "Tell me about it. Weird stuff."

Mr. Abernathy regarded the bee briefly, wondering if the bee was really a part of the agency. Then he regarded Vector. "Yes. The Mystic Ruins are of substantial interest in us, even with the dreadful scar left by Dr. Robotnik five years ago when he built that base of his there. However, that is not why I am here. We require your services to find the source of these disappearances."

The Chaotix shared a glance yet again, but underneath this was excitement. Their first major case. Vector promptly whipped out a notepad and a pencil. "What do you have for us?"

"You will be cooperating with the investigative branch of G.U.N. as they too have an interest in the area, and that most of the disappearances have been human. Whether this is significant or no, we do not know. Anything they know, you will know. Anything you know, they will know." Mr. Abernathy stood up. "That will be all. Please come as soon as possible. Upon conclusion of the investigation, we will discuss payment. Please come as soon as you are able. Good day, gentlemen."

Mr. Abernathy left, escorted by Mighty while the others remained silent until the door closed. Once Mighty joined the rest of the Chaotix, Charmy spoke first. "Stuffy, isn't he?"

"You tell me. I could tell that he didn't…" Espio made quotations signs with his fingers. "…approve of us when he stepped in."

"I don't care about that," Vector cut in. "I'm impressed that they chose us for an investigation that big. I mean geez. This will give us big time status!"

"And big bucks," Charmy added.

"Oh yeah…" Mighty said.

"Then let's go! Let's go get 'em!"

"Not so fast!" Mighty said. "How are we going to get there, fly? Or just fall off the Island when we hover over it?"

"I always wanted to skydive," Espio jeered.

"Do it off the clock." Vector got up. "Looks like we gotta pay ol' Knux a visit. Hopefully he'll loan us one of his portable teleporter thingamajigs."

"Let's hope so. We can't afford to fly by plane, and I don't know about you guys, but I would prefer to arrive as I am now instead of a smear." Mighty glanced at Espio, who merely looked away, whistling a show tune.

"Noted," Vector finished. "We'll, let's get out of here! The day ain't going to get any younger."

* * *

The storm over Sapphire City was also bent on drowning the Mystic Ruins and the surrounding forests with unprecedented fury. Forecasters call it the storm of the year as inches of rain became feet. While the city was getting the relative dry end of the storm, the Mystic Ruins was on flood alert. Perhaps the planet was aware that the previous night was the hunter's and was attempting to wash the earth of its kill.

However, the rain was not about to wash out a search in the middle of the forest. The search party searched the forest grounds for a missing explorer, lost to the Ruins exploration parties the previous night. Sadly, this was not the first disappearance as of late; merely the most recent. Over the past few weeks, there has been a string of disappearances reported during exploratory missions of the Mystic Ruins within the forests of Varuna. Very little has been found of the missing explorers, only trinkets that an explorer would typically have on a mission, such as a compass and binoculars.

This time around, the search was being aided by the investigative branch of the Guardian Unit of Nations, simply known as G.U.N. The first few disappearances were dismissed as clumsy explorers getting lost in the forest; however, when no sign of them had surfaced and as more disappearances have occurred, G.U.N. changed their minds. As the Mystic Ruins was a point of interest for humans and Mobian governments alike, control of the area was imperative. Both species were nervous about the site, as a mutual foe by the name Dr. Ivo Robotnik had a mega-base in the immediate area of the Mystic Ruins, and neither government dared to disturb the Doctor. Explorations in the Mystic Ruins were often quiet, small-numbered and nervous. If Robotnik wasn't in the area, then his commander Metal-Sonic very well may be, and that was not reassuring in the least.

One young captain of G.U.N. Criminal Investigations was feeling older than his years. Captain Cedric Summers, known to his colleagues as "Seeds," was the lead investigator of this case, and was stumped. No matter which disappearance he checked into, little to no evidence was found. All the evidence told in the labs and testimonies was that the trinkets they found simply belonged to the missing people and nothing else. The rain was also contributing to the hampered movement of the investigation, threatening to wash away any scent of the missing persons. Bloodhounds were always on hand, but even their shared sense of smell could only do so much.

Captain Summers lifted his head. He thought he heard a cry from one of his subordinates. The captain strode quickly towards the source, followed by other subordinates. Quickly, he came upon a young forensics officer. Captain Summers barked at the officer. "What is it?"

"Bullet casings, several of them." The officer motioned to several silver-colored casings lying off the beaten path.

The captain stooped down to the ground to get a closer look, but dared not touch them. "So, there was some kind of altercation here. Now the questions are: who was shooting, and who was being shot at…and why were they not getting along? Get these into forensics. Any way we can find identify the make of the gun?"

"We don't need to," the officer replied. "These are bullet casings for cartridges made for standard government-issued Smith and Wesson 9mm semi-automatic, the same wielded by the explorers of the Ruins here as of late. I had the opportunity to examine one."

"'As of late?'"

"Only recently has the requirement to bear weapons been heavily enforced, in light of the disappearances. However, select parties for the exploration have carried the issued arms for self-protection from forest predators."

The captain paused to consider this new information. The previous disappearances, they found no bullet casings. Merely things like compasses, the occasional water bottle, but no bullet casings. This was a

welcome leap in the investigation, yet because of the gun used to fire these bullets was identical to the ones carried by the explorers and several government employees, they went from no leads to several hundred ones. Looking around to his subordinates, he barked new orders. "I want to find the gun where these bullets came from. I want a radial search from this spot. Once we find the gun, get the hounds to sniff it out the bag it. In the event we don't find the gun, I want all the guns examined to see if we can find a match on the casings. Go!"

Without hesitation, the team of the investigators spread out from the site of the bullet casings. As the team searched on, the captain took a look at the vegetation surrounding the site, and noticed something amiss: some of the large leave plants had been snapped, as if something ran through them, breaking them. Casting his gaze a little further, he found that parts of deep grass had been trampled. Instantly, he called for back-up. "Get me a K-9 unit on this spot on the double, something left a trail near Site 12A. On the double!"

As a forensic scientist took snapshots of the so-called Site 12A, the K-9 unit arrive, made up of officers leading German Shepherds and Bloodhounds. Captain Summers pointed out the torn-up vegetation, and at once sent the dogs to sniff out a trail, hoping that the rain hasn't washed away too much of a scent.

Minutes passed as the dogs and men picked their way through the undergrowth, following a trail which would have been unseen had it not been for the pressed flora. Still, the going was slow as hidden underfoot in the tall grass was all kind of snares, such as vines, tree routes and rocks. Doubtless whoever has last come this way had encountered such traps underfoot.

Finally, a break. A hound sniffed out a discarded handgun, one of the same make as the guns carried by explorers. The officer beckoned the captain to come close.

Upon seeing it, the captain called for the K-9 unit to sniff it, then for a forensicist to bag it. As he did, Summers began to think. "This gun is likely the same one that was used to fire the bullets over a hundred meters back from whence we came. Is it a murder weapon? If so, wouldn't a body have been closer to the bullets? Why this mad dash through the plants off the trail? Something isn't adding up."

"Captain!" alerted one of the K-9 officers.

"What is it, Benson?"

"Star here's picked up something." The officer, called Benson, noted his dog's excitement upon sniffing the broken leaves of a philodendron plant. The plant looked like someone had fallen into it, causing major damage to the plant. Star, a young bloodhound, had sniffed the pistol, and very quickly picked up on the scent in the plant.

"Follow it! We just might find someone this time!"

"Yes, sir!"

The chase was on again. The dogs tugged at their masters, trying to find the scent as their masters quickly followed behind. The chase went on for another two-hundred meters when finally, the trail ended. They came to a clearing where vegetation had been severely torn up, laced with think creeper vines that riddled the ground. But most potent of all was a foul stench in the air that made everyone

retch. Captain Summers pulled out a handkerchief and was trying to breathe through it, while the others tried hard to just breathe through their mouths. The dogs didn't seem to mind the smell, and focused on something lying all alone in the clearing: one single beige-colored hiking boot, abandoned. The dogs sniffed it out and then sniffed the area while the officers examined the boot.

Benson, nasally, spoke first. "Looks like one of the boots the explorers wear in their expeditions."

A forensicist came by to bag the boot, while the captain looked around. "Whoever wore this must have been in a hurry to leave this behind. Why was he running?"

"Captain!" another officer called.

"What is it?" Summers called back.

"I think we might have something."

"Don't beat around the bush, son. Spill it."

The young officer had to swallow a bit before speaking. "The thing is, I don't know what it is." He pointed down. In one place where the grass didn't grow was a patch of soft earth, and impressed in it was a foot. It was neither a human foot nor a dog foot; it was unlike any footprint this investigative team has ever seen before. It was only a little smaller than a human hand, and protruding from it were two claw impressions.

The captain was silent. He wasn't sure what to make from it. He would have dismissed it as viable evidence, but it was reasonably fresh, only hours old. "Get some photos of it, and a mold. Let's find out what it is."

"It's almost like…a velociraptor print," Benson said.

"Pray to God it's not, Benson. God knows we don't need a velociraptor running loose so close to civilization."

"Aren't some of the Mobians dinosaur-like, sir?"

"I've heard of dragons among the Mobian people, but not dinosaurs, more so velociraptors. It would actually be lucky for us if it was sentient. God help us, if it's a raptor, and non-sentient. Get this print to a lab. I want to know what this thing is, and what its threat level is." He turned to the K-9 unit. "Any hint of the rest of the trail?"

"No, sir. The dogs can't find anything beyond the boot. I'm guessing the rain washed it out, or whatever found this guy carried it off without it touching the ground."

An officer that had been accompanying the captain had just got off of the phone. "Sir, the Mobians are bringing in their own detectives. Apparently, the Mobian governments find these disappearances just as disturbing as we do. The Chaotix Detective Agency is en route."

"Maybe they'll know something about this print," the captain said. "Let's make sure we have evidence for them to look at. Go."

As the other men worked feverishly on gather the remaining evidence, Captain Summers looked down at the mystery print at his feet. "So, what in hellfire are you, anyway?"


	3. Chapter 2: Drinking Game

**CHAPTER 2:**** Drinking Game  
**

* * *

Knuckles was checking the condition of some grape vines in his private orchard just outside his hut. Unlike most of the occupants of Angel Island, he preferred the outdoors and privacy outside of Echidnaopolis. Probably just one trait of being the Guardian of Angel Island.

Lifting up a leaf on one of the grape vines, he inspected the underneath for any signs of blight. Of all the things growing in his orchard, the grapes were his chief pride. The Floating Island provided the best soil in the world for mysterious reasons, and since Knuckles moved the Island south for the winter, growing season was year-round.

While Knuckles enjoyed the solitude, he eventually did get lonesome, so occasionally he would enter town to visit the Chaotix, who were now setting up their new detective business. Sometimes he would drop by Knothole and see what's up. As a part of the Freedom Fighters, he kept in touch with Sally in case Robotnik decided to pop up again. However, since the ARK incident, he's been keeping his head down, aside from the World Grand Prix, yet Knuckles wasn't sure if he counted that. Still, it was smart to keep his ear to the ground.

As he checked to see if the grapes were ripening well, he glanced to the side to see the Chaotix coming down the beaten path from the city. They called out to him. "Hey, Greenthumb! How's your grapes?"

"It was good until you showed up, blockheads!" Knuckles called back, chuckling. "What are you guys doing out here? I thought you had a store to run!"

"That's actually why we're out here," Vector said.

"Going to need specifics, unless you want me to talk about the condition of my grapes here," Knuckles motioned to the plants to his side.

"Heaven forbid," Espio said. "Actually, we just got a big case."

"Well, that's a relief." Knuckles smiled. "Now you can afford two lights."

"Very funny, Knucklehead," Espio jived.

"So why are you out here?" Knuckles said, picking up some loppers to trim excess foliage along the ground.

"We need some transpo," Mighty said matter-of-factly. "The case takes us off the Island."

"So, just jump off." Knuckles said.

"That's what I said!" Espio said.

"My, you're giddy today! What's got you so happy?" Vector said.

"I finally found a fertilizer that works for the grapes here. I've been having the toughest time finding some decent fertilizer for these grapes, but looks like I finally found some good stuff."

"Somehow, I knew that was the reason…" Mighty said, none too thrilled.

Knuckles laughed. "Ok, I know what you're talking about. You need one of my portable teleporters. So, what's the big case…or is that outside some client-detective confidentiality bull that's all the rage these days?"

"I doubt it, considering that this case has been all over the news!" Charmy said.

Knuckles looked up, sobering up. "It has? Wait…don't tell me. You mean the disappearances inside the jungles around the Mystic Ruins?"

"Dude, you'd make a good detective yourself," Vector said, smiling.

"Sonic may rib me for being gullible, but I'm not stupid," Knuckles said, looking very serious. "I've had a bad feeling about the Ruins since I first saw the news about them. I've also heard the theories surrounding them."

The Chaotix looked at each other, mystified. "What did you hear?" Espio ventured.

"Pretty standard," Knuckles shrugged. "Some say forest predators, others say they're just some stupid people getting lost in the jungle. I doubt that one because these a Mystic Ruins personnel. They always carry gear on them to prevent getting lost ever, and I've seen their equipment; it's top of the line. Guess having a government contract gives you all sorts of goodies."

"We could use a few of those," Charmy said wistfully.

"What else have you heard?" Espio said, engrossed.

Knuckles went on. "There's one big one I've heard. Remember about four years ago, the deal with Perfect Chaos?"

"Who doesn't?" Vector said. "Hard to forget Sapphire City being swamped by a colossal water monster, you know."

"Yeah, but there's one big thing that wasn't cleaned up after Perfect Chaos: Eggman's secret base near the ruins."

The Chaotix collectively blanched.

"Yeah, the Final Egg base. It's not just an ordinary base either. It's one of Eggman's mega-bases, one he built in case Robotropolis fell. When Robotropolis and Doomsday were destroyed simultaneously, Robotnik hightailed it to Final Egg, and less than a year later, we have the business with Chaos."

"You think Eggman is behind the disappearances?" Charmy said, wide-eyed.

"I can't say. Robotnik hasn't dared to go after humans, because the humans would go up in arms, and they're a threat to him as much as Sonic is. After all, it was G.U.N. that leveled Robotropolis with a bounty hunter they hired."

"Wow," Mighty said.

"Yeah. Despite Eggman being steamed about that, obviously, he doesn't dare attack humans because the instant he does, the military would be ready. More so, Sapphire City is a colony established by the Human Alliance, and they don't get very happy when a colony is threatened."

"I believe it," Charmy piped.

"Dr. Robotnik may be power hungry, but I don't think he would be going for humans," Knuckles reasoned. "Had the disappearances been Mobian, then it would be Dr. Robotnik stink right away."

"What does that leave?" Vector said.

"Predators."

The Chaotix looked at each other, unsure how to react.

"That one also seems unlikely," Mighty said. "If there were predators, like non-sentient jungle cats, wouldn't they have found mangled bodies by now? It's been a few weeks now."

"That's why you guys are detectives," Knuckles said.

"Pft, you'd make a good one too." Charmy crossed his arms.

"I don't dare. Too much mystery."

"Wow, we already eliminated the popular theories, and we haven't even arrived at the Mystic Ruins yet!" Vector said.

"So what point was all of this?" Espio asked.

"To be careful." Knuckles looked incredibly serious. "Something way out of the ordinary is cooking down in those forests. What's worse is that they're old Echidnean ruins. You never know what is left there. Echidnean artifacts are not something to trifle with, which is why the humans' and the Mobians' excavations near there have always made me nervous. More still, Chaos had wiped out that city first, because that's where Pachacamac's rule was. It was Chief Pachacamac that pissed off Chaos. There's a lot of bad blood soaked in the ground there."

The Chaotix looked skeptical. "Knux, don't tell us there are ghosts running amuck down there."

"Not exactly," Knuckles said. "But don't expect the ordinary. Dealing with Chaos was enough. I don't want a Chaos-like monster to deal with again. Now, let's get you that teleporter."

The Chaotix looked at each other as Knuckles stalked towards his hut. They both knew better than laugh at Knuckles for ghost stories, but that last part sounded like something a kid would say when he was scared of the dark. Knuckles was paranoid, this they knew, but more often than they cared to admit that paranoia had saved Knuckles' hide and Island.

Knuckles wasn't long in retrieving the teleporter. "Here you guys go. Do be careful with it, and remember what I said."

The Chaotix nodded solemnly as Vector set up the teleporter. Mighty addressed Knuckles, "If we need your help, we'll call you. You know the Ruins better than we do, so we may have to give you a buzz."

"No problem. I hope I'm making mountains out of molehills, seriously."

"Catch you later, Knux!"

With that, one after the other, the four beamed away. A few seconds later, the teleporter beamed after them, thanks to a safety protocol Knuckles had programmed into it to avoid being stranded. Knuckles looked at the spot where the teleporter had been, then at his orchard.

He tried to keep the foreboding thoughts out of his head as he pruned the fruit plants, but they were too stubborn. His paranoia was screaming at him that something dark was haunting the nights there, and it would not stay there if left alone.

As he thought about it, he remembered that Sonic too had wondered the ruins four years ago. When he went into the pyramid, he took a different route in and ended up in the Chamber of Chaos, the heart of the pyramid. Knuckles had considered looking for it some time ago, but had never gotten around to it.

Knuckles realized he had been brooding for some time now, for his stomach growled. He had worked till lunch time and didn't even realize it. Knuckles put down a hoe he was using to root out the weeds, and stalked towards his hut again. As he scourged the cabinets in his house for food, he thought about the pyramid. Something clicked in his head that maybe the old library in Sandopolis may have information on the pyramid. After all, it was an Echidnean temple. The deal is that going through the old scrolls was usually a hit-and-miss venture, so he used it only when he needed to find something important.

Perhaps as he searched, he could give Sonic a buzz and ask him more about the pyramid. Knuckles realized that Sonic just might be no hope, as it was four years ago, yet it didn't hurt to try.

As he peeled apart a grove of bananas, a surprise visitor stalked out onto his glove: a hairy brown, large slender spider crawled out and rose up its feet towards Knuckles. Thinking quick, Knuckles swatted it off. As it scurried on the ground, Knuckles stomped it, grinding it down with his foot. Knuckles knew better then let a spider that big wander free. Once he was sure it was dead, he looked down at it, and saw that aside from its brown color, it had reddish fangs.

"Damn it, that was too close. Just my luck I would find a wandering spider in my banana grove." Knuckles knew that wandering spiders were often extremely poisonous, especially tropical ones. Knuckles spat at the corpse and stormed off; time to break out the insecticide again.

* * *

"You know the rules, guys! No breaks, no pauses," said a dark blue chao.

"And no puking either!" a white chao interjected.

"So, this is a drinking game…" Shadow said while motioning to a disposable cup filled with fizzy yellow-colored liquid. "What's the point of this again?"

"To see who's the fastest at binge drinking!" Sonic said, preparing his first glass. "Except with no beer, because little kids are watching. Gotta keep the parents happy! Plus, beer is just eww…"

"I see…" Shadow couldn't help but wonder why he was talked into these ridiculous antics by Sonic, but there was no turning back now. Sonic had dared him to compete, and something pricked within Shadow's mind that he would rather die than lose to Sonic. Sonic had finally recovered from his experience with vertigo and had joined them in a hearty breakfast. Now the day was progressing, and the two hedgehogs and two chao were waiting outside the Resort near the swimming pool, when Sonic challenged Shadow to a drinking game.

"Too bad Tails couldn't join us," Sonic sighed wistfully. "Oh well, more for us!"

"What's he doing, anyway?" Frosty said, sipping a Dixie-cup of the same syrupy liquid that the hedgehogs were preparing to indulge upon.

"He's making sure the Tornado is ready for a flight to the Mystic Ruins." Sonic leaned back in his chair His workshop's out there, and he's been scheming about building a new Tornado."

"Cool!" Frosty peeped.

"Gentleman, take your places," Dash said overdramatically.

Sonic and Shadow hovered their hands over their respective drinks.

"On your mark…get set…GO!"

Sonic and Shadow snatched up their drinks and chugged away. Dash and Frosty watched the spectacle intently as the two hedgehogs duked it out with their palates. Five minutes and six two-liters in, Tails came outside from the main lobby of the hotel, clearly looking for his friend. Espying them at a poolside table, he joined them. "There you guys are! I've been looking all over for you!" The kitsune looked at the chugging hedgehogs. "What's going on?"

"Shh! They've having a drinking contest!" Frosty said, eyes never leaving the two hedgehogs.

Tails felt that he shouldn't be too surprised. "So, who's winning?"

"We don't know," Dash said matter-of-factly. "We lost count."

Sonic finished one cup, breaking one bit to belch...loudly. "Woo! I feel five pounds lighter now!" With that, he scooped up another cup, and drank it down.

Tails watched the two hedgehogs, and noticed each one had their own approach to it. Sonic was messy about it, drinking it down noisily and greedily as if he had just came out of a week's stay in the desert and just found water. Sonic's fur was soaked with the sticky soda as he was spilling it as he was drinking it. Shadow, however, was more methodical. He would calmly pick his up, and let it go down without rushing. He even took the time to stack up his cups once he was done with them, opposed to Sonic just throwing them aside.

The game was in its tenth two-liter of the drink when Shadow rubbed his head. Tails frowned. Despite his methods, it seemed that Shadow was experiencing a sugar headache. His pace had also considerably slowed, while Sonic kept going. The chao had noticed too.

"Uh oh." Dash put down his own drink. "Looks like Shadow's losing."

"I'm just getting a little…headache." Shadow paused, looking at the next drink before picking it up.

Sonic began to gloat. "Ha! What did I say! I told you I was the best! I told—"

Nausea smacked Sonic like a freight train, and he almost fell backwards into the pool. The gorging he had done had overloaded his stomach, and now his stomach was about to release to relieve the pressure. "Oh, boy. I—" Sonic lurched, feeling a taste of sour bile in his throat. "I gotta go." Sonic darted with all haste inside, seeking a restroom.

Shadow drank down one last drink, side-eying Sonic running for a spillway. He placed his last cup in his stack, rubbed his head and sat down.

"I think we have a winner," Tails said.

"I certainly hope that whatever is happening to Sonic doesn't happen to me," Shadow said, feeling strangely sluggish.

"Should we check up on him?" Dash peered in the direction of the hotel.

"This isn't the first time he outdid himself," Tails said, smiling a little. "But we can wait inside the lobby. It's going to get muggy out here before too long, and the rain this morning won't help at all."

Dash and Frosty looked out over the pool, seeing the vaporous air already ripple the view. "I think it's already starting," Dash said. "Last one in is a rotten Eggman!" The chao took flight towards the door, followed by Tails.

Shadow took his time, fighting the sugar headache but at the same time wondered if someone should clean up their mess from the game. Sighing, he picked up the cups Sonic had strewn around and after locating the nearest trashcan, threw them away. It took a few minutes, but Shadow cleaned up the table, and took the remaining two-liter of soda inside. He had no desire to partake of it currently, but perhaps the others would. Carrying it inside, he looked around for Tails and the two chao, and quickly found them in the lobby on a couch facing a large plasma TV, displaying the news.

Dash noticed Shadow as he approached. "Looks like a rotten Eggman showed up!"

Frosty cut in, "I don't know, Dash. Sonic still hasn't come out yet."

"Very funny, Frosty," Dash replied.

Tails looked up. "Oh! Thanks for bringing the soda in, Shadow. I forgot about it." Tails took it from Shadow's hands. "You want any?"

"I'll pass," Shadow said, finding an empty recliner to sit in.

"I'll say," Dash cut in. "You and Sonic drank enough to float the _Titanic_."

"The what?" Shadow inquired.

"The _Titanic_!" Dash said again, then gave Shadow a strange look. "You never heard of it?"

"Should I have?"

"Seriously!" Dash looked shocked.

"Give him a break, Dash," Tails interrupted. "The _Titanic_ was human history." He turned to Shadow. "The Titanic was a huge boat the humans built hundreds of years ago. It was called the 'Unsinkable,' but on its first voyage, it sank."

"Ironic," Shadow breathed.

"Yeah, but it killed over a thousand people when it sank."

"It sounds like calling it the 'Unsinkable' dared some higher power to make it sink," Shadow said, although it sounded silly when he said it.

"Sonic would just call it a jinx," Dash piped in.

"Can we talk about something else now?" Frosty said. "You guys are depressing me."

Tails smiled. "Yeah, I guess we could."

"Let's talk about the monster in Mystic Ruins!" Dash said with relish.

"What?" Frosty said, wide-eyed.

"It's on TV! Look!" Dash pointed at the plasma.

All looked at the TV. A news reporter was giving a story about the situation in the Ruins. "…are still unsure who or what is responsible for the string of disappearances that have plagued the forests around the so-called Mystic Ruins for the past several weeks. Up until now, there has been no clue found suggesting the whereabouts or the condition of each missing person. After interviewing Mr. Dean of the Mystic Ruins Expeditions, they have no idea on any probable cause of these disappearances.

"Investigations in the forests have drawn up little evidence on what may have caused the disappearances, but the Liaison to Guardian Unit of Nations Criminal Investigations Branch, Mr. Frank Meyers, made this statement earlier this morning:"

The TV switched to a young man dressed in a business suit, labeled as "Frank Meyers, Liaison to G.U.N. Criminal Investigations." "Due to the lack of evidence discovered in the jungles, attaching a probable cause of murder or kidnapping to this case is premature and unfounded."

The TV reporter came back on. "When asked about any guesses on what could be causing this large amount of disappearances, Mr. Meyers had this to say:"

"It's possible that wild animals of the jungle could be responsible as the disappearances happen at night, but unless we can find a body, we cannot make that claim. One growing suspicion is because the Ruins are so close to the old base owned by Dr. Ivo Robotnik, the Doctor has been taking them and roboticizing them as he has done to prisoners while Robotropolis was in operation. However, again, no evidence suggests this. Another popular one is that a monster like Chaos has come back and is dragging them off, but this is mostly thought up by conspiracy theorists."

"The Mystic Ruins site is an important site for human and Mobian interests alike, due to the history of the area. We asked Mr. Meyers if the Mobian governments are planning to aid in the investigations at all."

"With the rebuilding of Acornopolis, the Mobian governments are not able to send any government sanctioned help, but rest assured, the Mobian governments are concerned about the disappearances, and are sending representatives to recruit private detective firms to aid us in the investigation. With the severity of this case, we could use the manpower…so to speak."

"We had one last question for Mr. Meyers regarding what will happen to the site while this investigation proceeds."

"As for the ruins itself, we've declared it off-limits to civilian traffic, and for everyone to stay away from the area until the investigation is complete. The trains will remain in operation unless deemed a risk to the populace and so evacuation of the resort in the Mystic Blue Mountains can be executed. I must stress that all civilizations must return to their homes outside the Mystic Ruins before 6 PM every night, as the disappearances happen at night. Please, stay away from the site."

"As you can see, the stress for public safety is high for the investigation here. Until the disappearances are stopped, the investigators are taking no chances. This is Ann Beckman of Colonial News Network."

As the news shifted to the weather and local news, Sonic spoke first. "That's what I love about this place. Something is always happening."

The others jumped at hearing Sonic's voice. Dash spoke first. "When did you get here!"

"During the newscast. Why so jumpy? Hey, pass the soda. I need to wash this nasty stuff from my mouth."

Shadow looked at Sonic. Despite having a shaky look on him that proclaimed his bout with digestive rejection, Sonic looked pretty much fine. "You just threw up who knows how many quarts of soda plus unmentionables and the first thing you want to do is drink the same stuff you threw up?"

"Not really." Sonic smiled as he poured himself another cup. "This tastes better than puke."

Frosty looked in disbelief at Sonic, but then at Dash who replied, "Hey, don't look at me! I'm his chao, and even I don't get it most of the time."

This time, it was Tails who decided to change the subject. "I wonder what's going on in those ruins…"

Sonic scoffed. "It's probably jolly ol' Eggman having his fun. The Ruins are right beside the Final Egg base. He's been scaring the locals since Chaos swamped the city. Only was a matter of time before he actually _did_ do something."

"But if it _is_ Eggman, shouldn't we find out what he's up to?" Tails asked.

"And that's why you're my sidekick! Like heck we are!" Sonic said.

"Hold on," Shadow raised a hand. "The man on the TV just stated that there is no evidence that Dr. Robotnik is involved in these disappearances."

"Since when has that stopped Eggman? I can just smell a rotten egg in the jungle. I've been itching to kick his butt again. It's been too long since Babylon Garden."

Shadow recalled the previous summer when both he and Sonic had been confronted by the Babylon Rogues, raced in the EX World Grand Prix, and finding out it was a cover-up for Dr. Robotnik's scheme to claim the treasure of Babylon.

Tails cut in. "Well, I do have my project at my workshop outside the Ruins to work on."

"Sold!" Sonic interrupted. "We're going to the Mystic Ruins!"

The chao cheered, while Shadow stayed quiet. Once the applause has died down, Shadow spoke again. "Why do I have the feeling that this is going to go horribly wrong?"

"Aw, Shadow, you worry too much!" Sonic clapped and hand against Shadow's back. "This will be a walk in the park for us! C'mon! I'll race you to the train station!"

Shadow looked on as Sonic darted out the door, followed by Tails and the two chao. Shadow walked on behind, trying to shake a feeling foreboding that had settled on him like the storm earlier that morning.

* * *

Sonic, and his friends, as well as the colonial population were not the only ones paying attention to the news alerts regarding the disappearances. Deep inside the Final Egg base, one loan figure was sitting in front of several monitors displaying various feeds from watchful cameras hidden in the area. One monitor had displayed the news feed that had just been broadcast throughout the human colonies.

Metal fingers strummed together as the red eyes blinked in thought and fascination of the developments happening just outside his front door. It seems that Perfect Chaos was not the only secret that the Mystic Ruins had been protecting.

He couldn't help but wonder if the hedgehog would come in to try to save the day, as it were. Doubtless, the hedgehog may link the disappearances to him, purely because of the base's proximity to the forest. He smiled in grim amusement. The hedgehog was certainly in for a surprise.

His red eyes glowed in anticipation. It would truly be a shame for the hedgehog to die at the hands of whatever was out there, but that's the law of the wild: survival of the fittest. This would certainly be a show to watch; it would certainly be a show to die for.


	4. Chapter 3: Forest of Ruin

**CHAPTER 3:**** Forest of Ruin  
**

* * *

Along the coast of Sapphire Bay towards the northwest of Sapphire City was the enormous jungles of Varuna, which was more known to the locals as, the Mystic Ruins. While the jungle itself wasn't the ruins, in its heart was the ruins of what used to be a great civilization of Echidnas. For hundreds of years had this civilization dominated the coastline of the Sapphire Bay, but one night, it was all extinguished. For most, it was a mystery; for a select few, a past adventure four years prior had told them why.

Those outside the know went on grand expeditions to find the answer for such a violent overthrow of a great civilization, and by what force of the world grants such a destiny to great civilizations. Initially suspected was an eruption from the nearby Red Mountain, a volcano in the Fire Lake Wilderness that sporadically rose from dormancy to shake things up a bit. This was shed in doubt by the fact that such a volcanic eruption would have buried the ruins in volcanic ash or mud. Since the proximity of the Ruins to Red Mountain was several miles, it was unlikely such an eruption would have destroyed the ruins.

Stranger still, whenever electrical instruments got too close to the ruins, they reading started getting fuzzy. There was a strange electromagnetic interference in the air about the ruins that screwed up electronics that got too close to the center of the ruins. It was anybody's guess why.

Jetting out of the heart of the jungle high over the sea was a rocky cliff, relatively barren compared to the jungles around it. Surrounded by impassable hills, it was a lone haven protected against the wild jungle beyond the mountainous rim. Only recently, the rocky fortress surrounding the haven had been breached by settlers. Those that came had carved out a tunnel that lead into the jungle, as well as a train that lead around the barrier, over the sea, from Sapphire City.

Normally, this haven was a quiet place, but within the last couple of weeks, a heavy atmosphere had settled on it, and anyone who came could feel it. There was fear in the air, and those who stayed long enough for feel it bore into their heads, whispers of a nameless fear goading souls into madness. Whatever was causing explorers in the Ruins to disappear each night had sewn seeds of superstitious fear of the area into fearful explorers who initially came to discover the mystery, only to be greeted by nightmarish fears.

Out of nowhere, four flashes of light broke the quiet of the haven's atmosphere, each one depositing a different person each time: a chameleon, a crocodile, a honeybee and an armadillo. The Chaotix beamed in from their last location on the Angel Island, onto a large flat of land that sat beside a large jetting ledge over the sea. All looked around and immediately noticed that the flat they were standing on was occupied.

"Whoa, what the heck is that!" Charmy exclaimed, pointing towards a large structure of silver-metal that towered over them. All saw what looked like a two legged robot that stood twenty feet above them. It had massive legs, and what looked like a long missile for a head. It was rather ugly, but a kind of ugly you didn't want to tick off.

"Looks like Tails is playing mad scientist again," Espio said, whistling.

"I keep forgetting he has a workshop out here," Charmy said.

"Where does he get the finances to build this stuff?" Vector said.

"Forget the cash, where does he come up with these ideas?" Mighty exclaimed.

"He's only like what, 10? 11? And he builds this?"

"Robotnik would love him," Espio said.

"Pft," Mighty scoffed. "Robotnik would just destroy Tails for being competition."

"Hmm, good point," Espio relented.

"As much as I would like to look this over, I think we have more pressing concerns to deal with," Vector said. "We need to find whoever's in charge here so we can get started on finding what happened here."

"There's only one other structure besides Tails' workshop here, and that's the train station." Espio pointed towards the rail bridge that ran by the flat they were standing on, towards where it was ending. "My guess is they would be there."

"Then let's go. The sooner we can get done, the sooner we can pay the electric bill."

The troupe found a set of stairs down the flat that led down towards the train station on the other end of the clearing. Once they came within visual of the train station, they saw it bustling with different humans, some wearing the khaki-tan of the explorers, and others wearing the black uniforms of G.U.N. The Chaotix tried not to be intimidated in the face of G.U.N., but since G.U.N. was a force to be reckoned with, the hesitation was only natural.

Thankfully, a Mobian came up to them rather quickly, a scarlet-colored chameleon with raspberry-colored speckles on his scales. He blinked his olive-green eyes which sat between his two horns as he studied them. "You must be the Chaotix Detectives."

"That we are," Mighty replied in behalf of the group. "I'm Mighty the Armadillo." The rest followed in turn

"Vector the Crocodile."

"Charmy the Bee"

"Espio the Chameleon. And you are…?"

"I'm Carmine. I work with my brother Garrett here with the explorers. Your timing is excellent," the chameleon said. "The G.U.N. Investigators have just set up a new crime scene inside the jungle, and are extracting some evidence from it now."

"Well, that's a nice jump start," Charmy piped in.

"The G.U.N. Investigation is being headed by Captain Cedric Summers, and they've already been investigating the disappearances since last week when several human explorers disappeared within that week. Up until now, the explorers have vanished without a trace."

"What have they found?" Espio said.

"Nothing suggesting who or what is causing the disappearances. Had these disappearances been isolated, G.U.N. would have dismissed the case as the result incompetent explorers, yet because of frequency of the disappearances and the targeting, G.U.N. was rather quick to pick up on it."

"Before we go on, I suggest we split into two teams of two:" Mighty proposed. "One to go to the crime scene, and the other to go with Carmine here to ask about the investigation."

"Good idea, Might," Vector said. "Charmy, you stay with me and Carmine. You and Espio can go to the crime scene and see what you can find."

"Gotcha," Espio said. "See you later, chumps."

As Mighty and Espio took off for the crime scene in the jungle, Vector and Charmy followed Carmine towards the train station, as the scarlet chameleon continued with the explanation. "Typically what they have found at the scenes were just trinkets that explorers would have on them during an expedition. Nothing terribly unusual."

"Next to them being away from the person carrying them, you mean," Charmy added.

"Quite. That changed as of today, although I will warn you, it's no catastrophic change." By that point the three had arrived at the train station building. The way it was structured was that the building had two floors: the top floor was the station, and the bottom housed the agency of the explorers. Currently, G.U.N. had set up a base inside the lower level for the period of the investigation. As they stepped inside, they were greeted gruffly by a hulking G.U.N. soldier. Carmine intervened saying they were the Chaotix they were waiting for. The soldier let them by.

"Tough guy," Charmy sassed.

"Keep your stinger to yourself, Charmy," Vector warned. "We aren't here to cause trouble."

Carmine led them to a makeshift evidence lab where evidence was being processed before it was shipped onto the main crime lab in Sapphire City. Through the clear plastic of the bags, Vector and Charmy could see what was inside each one.

"You were right, there isn't that much at all," Charmy stated. "Can't get anything from the occasional compass or flashlight. Was there anything on it at all useful?"

Carmine shook his heavy-browed head. "Only fingerprints. However, it is incredibly doubtful that the fingerprints on each respective item are not the prints of each item's respective owner."

Vector remembered something from earlier in the conversation. "Carmine, you said that up until now, there was no trace of what happened to the explorers. What changed?"

Carmine led them to a group of bags showing the most recent evidence collected. The Chaotix noted that there was considerably more evidence this time than before. "Because of three things:" Carmine put on some latex gloves then picked up a bag containing a discarded beige-colored boot. "One: this was discovered in the jungle."

Charmy and Vector studied it briefly. "Gee, someone must have been in a hurry to leave that behind," Charmy said.

"He was chased." Vector said analytically. "Why else would he leave it behind?"

Carmine continued. "Two: a discarded handgun…" The chameleon lifted another bag. "…and bullet casings."

"Hmm, not so obvious," Vector said. "Could be a murder weapon or a defense weapon. Although I haven't heard of explorers carrying firearms."

"Actually, a select few explorers have carried firearms before the disappearances, and it is suggested by the organization heading the expeditions," Carmine explained. "There has always been a risk of wild animal attacks during the expeditions, so firearms are a simple means of protection."

"Seems like a legitimate reason," Charmy said.

Vector grunted in agreement. "So, who was shooting and who were they shooting at? And why?"

Charmy looked at the table bearing the evidence they were looking over. "Hey, what's the weird block there?"

Carmine looked it over. "That is the most perplexing piece of evidence of all: it is a mold of a fingerprint found not far from the boot. We have not been able to identify the print."

Vector was about to question on the print, but all words died on his lips when he saw the mold. Inverted by the mold, it rose up out of the concrete, reaching two peaks on one end like claws. "What the hell is that?"

"We were actually hoping you could tell us," Carmine said plainly.

"Doesn't look like any footprint I have ever seen," Charmy added.

"Did you take photos of the print?" Vector asked.

Carmine wordlessly handed the crocodile a few snapshots of the print showing the print and measurements of it. The print measured a solid five inches long and two inches wide.

"Looks like we have some homework to do, Charmy. We gotta find out what made this print."

"The G.U.N. Investigators have not concluded that the print has anything to do with the disappearances," Carmine warned.

"I'm pretty sure G.U.N. is just as interested in seeing what made such a freaky print; otherwise, they would have made the mold." Charmy crossed his arms.

"This whole case sounds too freaky to dismiss a strange footprint anyway," Vector reasoned. "Where is this evidence being shipped to?"

"The headquarters of G.U.N. Investigative Branch in Sapphire City," Carmine answered. "You will be commissioned temporary passes to the crime labs so you can view the evidence in a more stable environment. You will also collaborate with the forensics department down there as well."

"Sounds good." Vector looked over the evidence before them. "We'll get to work on this. As soon as we regroup with Espio and Mighty after they scope the scene, we'll see what's going on in the Ruins."

"We expect that, Vector," Carmine said. "I must join my brother in preparing the evidence for transfer. We expect a quick end to this investigation." With that, Carmine slipped away from the two. Vector and Charmy regarded each other.

"He was a little weird," Charmy said. "Never thought I would prefer Espio to him."

"Maybe it's a chameleon thing," Vector said. Vector looked at the pictures of the print again. "What the heck made you anyway?"

* * *

Sonic, Shadow and the rest of their company arrived at the Mystic Ruins Train Station a short time later, and were immediately met with G.U.N. milling about. They had expected this, as they had encountered the same resistance from G.U.N. the previous day. Thankfully, G.U.N. had made no move to interfere with Tails at his workshop despite what was going on.

As the others made their way towards Tails', Shadow was all too aware of the dark looks he was getting from G.U.N. soldiers. He could tell that G.U.N. had not forgiven him for his breakout from Prison Island four years prior, let alone conspiring to hurl a space station at the planet didn't help. Still, he wished they would stop treating him like a criminal. He had been granted amnesty for his role in stopping the space station with the aid of Sonic, much to the chagrin of G.U.N., so they couldn't touch him unless he returned to a life of wanting to destroy humanity.

A promise made in the past held him from striking against the humans again. He never admitted it, but he sometimes felt his old hatred resurface, but some grace choked it off. He was thankful to whatever was stopping him from breaking his promise to Maria. It didn't stop the hate, but it did make the urge bearable.

Sonic seemed completely oblivious to the scowls G.U.N. was giving Shadow, and was merely jumping on the balls of his feet, itching to run. "Man, I so want to find out what's going on here. My feet itch big time at the thought of it."

"Sonic, I don't want to cause trouble with G.U.N.," Tails said, motioning to the wall of black-garbed men patrolling the entrance to the jungle. "You ended up in jail for something you didn't do. You want to end up there for something you did?"

"Pft, it's not like they can catch me."

"I seem to remember once," Dash said. "Why else did we have to bust you out?"

"Oh, shut up."

"If they have a crime scene set up for whatever is going on there, running into it means you're in BIG trouble!" Tails exclaimed.

"I'm not that stupid. I just want to have a look around the Ruins. Thinking about paying old Eggy a visit,"

"What if he's not there?" Tails asked.

"Then someone's gotta be."

"How are you even going to get by G.U.N.?" Shadow crossed his arms. "They have the entrance guarded."

"The normal way, yeah, but I know another way." Sonic's gaze fell on a cave where a strange whoosing sound was emanating, as if gale-force winds were pouring through it.

Tails followed his gaze. "Sonic, remember what happened last time we went through there? The tornado? The flash flood?"

"Yep, those were the days."

"You nearly drowned…twice!"

"Details."

"But—"

"Don't bother, Tails," Frosty piped. "Sonic is not about to listen."

"You know how I roll, Tails. Just gotta go fast! Catch ya, later!" Without another word, Sonic shot for the cave in a flash.

"Wait!" Tails called out in vain, but then let out a sigh. "Now I see why Sally always groans when Sonic takes off."

Dash watched his master flash, a little disappointed that he didn't get to go with Sonic, but wasn't put out because of it. "So, what do we do now?"

"Work on the plane, I guess," Tails said resignedly.

Tails lead the way towards the flat next to his workshop. Once they reached the top, they saw the tail silver structure that greeted them as they came upon it.

"Wow!" Dash exclaimed.

Tails brightened up in the presence of his pet project. "What do you think?"

"What is it!" Frosty exclaimed, agape with awe.

"It will be the next Tornado. I haven't gotten around to giving it a good name yet, but it's going to fly circles around the Tornado 2."

"Why can't you just call it the Tornado 3?" Frosty asked.

"Because that's boring," Dash answered.

"No, it's not!"

"Yes, it is!"

"No, it's not!"

"Yes, it is!"

"No, it's not!"

"Yes, it is!"

The two chao abruptly took it to the ring and went all out in a wrestling match. Tails and Shadow watched them momentarily, until Shadow decided that a chao fight wasn't worth his time. "So, besides the obvious, what makes this new Tornado different from the Tornado 2?"

Tails was happy for a change of topic from the branding of the ship. "Well, the biggest one is the engine. Come on up and see!" Tails climbed a nearby staircase leading up to the fuselage of the plane, where in one part, the paneling was removed to expose the inner workings. Shadow followed Tails up, leaving the two chao to their squabble and marveling at the size of this machine. He couldn't help but wonder how Tails was able to make this.

Tails poked his head inside the engine compartment and pointed around inside. "You see the engine back there? It's a dual-core viresium-ring engine. I found a similar design in the Egg Carrier, but it was mono-core and didn't have viresium rings. Good thing too. The Egg Carrier would have run for a long time otherwise."

"What are viresium rings?" Shadow inquired.

"They're in a box just a little bit away from you. Go ahead and take one out. They won't break."

Shadow looked to one side and the other before he found a box laying to the side on the platform. Walking up towards it, he noticed a reflective seen of gold as he reached down into the box. He pulled out a ring and found that he already knew what it was. "A Power Ring?"

Tails poked his head back out, reaching for another tool. "A dead one anyway. Only way to recharge them properly is with a Chaos Emerald."

"You got these from the generator in the pond?"

"Yep. Get one every twelve hours or so. The power doesn't last long with them, so we have to charge them up again. Turns out that they're great conductors of electricity. The rings we don't use Rotor and I sell to keep up funds for our work. You wouldn't believe how much business we get with them."

"That explains how you were able to get the finances to build this," Shadow said, placing the ring back into the box. "But how were you able to get a hold of the materials for this?"

"Oh, that's easy!" Tails slid back out from the compartment, grease starting to mat up his fur. "Ever since the ARK Incident, I've actually been working for G.U.N."

"You have?" Shadow looked alarmed.

"Yeah, they're working on what they call the Sovereign Project. I can't tell you much about it, but what I can tell you is that Robotnik will be in for the shock of his life." Tails slid back in the compartment again, replacing the tool he came out for.

_The Sovereign Project_, Shadow thought. I'm not sure that I like the sound of that.

"While I was working with G.U.N., I ran into an aircraft engineer for the project, named Professor Thorndyke. I did a favor for him in fixing the calibration of his part of the project, and he helped me design the new Tornado here. He was able to arrange me getting my hands on some great materials to build the armor here."

"That much have been a large favor you did for him." Shadow sized up the large ship. He wasn't sure if he could call it a plane anymore.

"Kind of," Tails' voice carried out. "But yeah, I'm really excited that I'm getting to finally finish up this thing. I've been working on it in my spare time for over a year."

"That explains why you've been gone a lot from Knothole."

"Yep, that plus G.U.N."

"Does G.U.N. like having a Mobian working for them?" Shadow said, thinking aloud.

Promptly, Tails slid out. "What did you say, Shadow?"

Startled that Tails heard him, he repeated the question. "Does G.U.N. like having a Mobian working for them?"

"I'm not sure I know what you are talking about."

"They don't look down on you there, do they?"

Tails smiled. "Well, they kind of have to. I'm shorter then all of them."

Shadow looked annoyed. "That's not what I'm talking about."

"Sorry, I couldn't resist. Sonic rubs off on me." Tails sat up from the compartment. "Well, if they do, they haven't made it obvious. I was actually asked to help since I did some research on the Egg Carrier already, and they wanted in on it. For me, it's pretty cool since I'm working on grand-scale things instead of just little things back in Knothole. I haven't had anyone tell me that I shouldn't be there or anything. The only real annoying thing is that a technician constantly checks on me. Guess they can't forget I'm a kid. I heard that kids aren't allowed to work that young, especially in mechanics. First time I heard about it."

Shadow looked away. So, Tails' association with Shadow had not affected his being there with G.U.N. Maybe they didn't even know. Maybe they did know but didn't care. He wasn't sure what was more likely, yet he felt like he should be gratified.

"Something on your mind, Shadow?"

Shadow looked back at Tails, and saw a look of concern on the kitsune's face. Shadow looked away again. "It's nothing."

Tails looked at Shadow for a little bit longer. Sonic did something similar if something was bothering him but wasn't willing to share it. Despite their differences, Shadow and Sonic were a lot more alike than people thought. Tails looked away again. Shadow needed his time to deal with it, he knew, she he decided to give it to him. It was then he noticed the chao had not followed them up. "Hey, where are Dash and Frosty?"

Shadow glanced at Tails, then down the staircase with which they ascended to this platform. Shadow saw that Dash and Frosty had apparently settled their argument, but they did not come directly up to meet them apparently. Both had helped themselves to a fizzy soda can undoubtedly from a small fridge in the workshop they decided to raid.

"Hey, guys!" Dash chimed up as they reached the top. "You have a lot of stairs, Tails."

"You have a lot of guts to raid my fridge while I'm up here," Tails said, smiling.

"Who, us! NAAAWWW!" Dash exclaimed over-exaggerating.

"Sonic hasn't come back yet while we we're gone?" Frosty said, changing the subject.

"No," Tails said, looking towards the cave that led to Windy Valley, the place Sonic went to get to Mystic Ruins. "I hope he doesn't get into any trouble…" Shadow, Dash and Frosty gave Tails a strange look, to which Tails wilted. "…and I realized how stupid that sounded."

"Do you think Eggman really is behind what's going on?" Dash asked out of the blue.

"I don't know. Robotnik has turned over new leaves before, but usually not this much. I don't see what kidnapping human explorers would have to do with world domination."

"You know, I kind of hope it is Robotnik doing it," Frosty blurted out.

"That's a strange thing to say," Shadow said. "Why?"

"Well, if it is him, then we just go in and kick his butt as usual. But what if it isn't him? What if it is something else? Something…"

"Worse," Shadow finished.

The silence that followed for several seconds seemed to loudly proclaim Frosty's reasoning.

Tails swallowed before continuing. "Now I understand why Sonic darted off the way he did."

* * *

Mighty and Espio arrived at the first crime scene in the mid-afternoon. The air was already steaming hot as the temperature rose towards the triple digits even deep beneath the jungle canopy. Espio showed no signs of heat exhaustion, but Mighty was breaking a sweat and had to breathe heavily in the oppressive heat.

"What I wouldn't give to be cold-blooded right now," Mighty panted.

"Wimpy mammal," Espio said, shading himself into a deep scarlet color.

"Laugh it up, scales. Just wait until winter time. Why do you keep turning red?"

"Oh, ever since we ran into Carmine, I wanted to see if I could match his shade of red." Espio concentrated to see if he could get the darker red scales right.

"Chameleons," Mighty sighed.

"Well, if you're done with racial stereotyping, I think we should at least check this place out." Espio looked down upon a marker that sat on the ground. Espio in turn took out a holopad that was lent to him by the other investigators. Cross-referencing the number on the marker, he read the results. "Hmm, this is where they found the casings…all of them."

"All of them?" Mighty panted. "You mean the guy firing emptied his gun right here?"

"Seems like it. Whoever fired it must have been soiling his underwear at the time."

"What would frighten a guy like that out here?"

"Who knows? This place isn't exactly….tame." Espio looked around in the jungle as if he expected trouble. Even in the daylight, there were eerie shadows all around them.

"You got that right. Knuckles told us about this place."

Espio looked at the holopad again. "Hmm, apparently, the next thing found was that way." Espio pointed towards their left, through dense brush.

Mighty consulted a compass. "Southwest." Mighty then pulled out a map of the region as well as a pencil. "You have the GPS, right?"

Espio pulled out another gadget that looked like a TV on a stick. "Yep, working like a charm." Espio took one glance at the screen and scowled. "Southwest?"

"Yeah, that's what it says here. Why?"

"There's nothing to run to southwest, except some hundred-feet-tall cliffs."

"Or Dr. Robotnik's base."

"Yeah, but why would this guy be running there?"

"Why would he be running that way then?"

"Why, indeed…" Espio scratched his chin. "Unless he didn't know where he was running."

Mighty looked at Espio. "Got something?"

"Just a hunch." Espio looked around the woods. "He emptied his gun, and then took off running southwest, where there is nothing good for him to hide. This guy was a human, so I don't think he has business with Dr. Robotnik. So, what if he ran in a blind panic?"

"Blind panic? From what?"

"I don't know, but it must have been something." Espio looked southwest with a scowl. "Let's follow where he went."

Espio and Mighty followed the path that was traced by investigators that morning. It was quite a walk, but they soon found the next marker. "Here's where they found the gun," Mighty reported.

Espio glanced at the markings, then at a nearby philodendron plant. "That must be where the victim ran to hide, dropping the gun in the process."

Mighty scratched his head. "This is where it starts to get weird. The guy drops his gun and takes cover in a bush? You think he was a kid or something."

"You would. That might be a clue."

"Care to share?"

"Think about it, Mighty. The guy unloads his gun quickly, takes off southwest where nothing is, drops his gun then hides in a bush. Why would he do that?"

Mighty looked at the chameleon, until he caught on. "Because he was running for his life."

"You got it. The question remains, why? What was the cause of such panic?"

"Whatever it is, I don't think we'll find the answer today. There's only one marker left. South this time." Mighty tapped a few virtual keys on the touchscreen, and then blinked in surprised. "Oh, he didn't get very far."

"Well, that makes things easier," Espio replied dryly. "Let's get going. It gets darker out here faster, and I don't want to be out here in the dark."

Mighty and Espio trudged through overgrown brush as they made their way to the next part of the crime scene. As they came closer to the last marker, they were greeted with an unbearable stench.

"What is that stink?" Mighty exclaimed. "Smells like something died."

"Ugh, smells more like a bunch of things died," Espio retched.

Trying their hardest to not breath through their noses, they picked their way to a clearing where a lone marker among tangled vines sat. Mighty looked at the holopad. "Here was where they found one boot. Here the trail got cold, except for a strange footprint."

Espio looked quizzically at Mighty. "Of what?"

"That's just it. It doesn't say. I don't even think they know." Mighty looked at the readout again. "Hmm, it says they made a mold of it and sent it back for processing before being shipped to the crime labs."

"Guess we'll have to let Vector and Charmy handle that one," Espio said, but then looked around. "You know, you'd think we'd see something that's causing this smell."

Mighty looked around. "You have a point. Is there a skunk cabbage hiding under all these plants?"

"I doubt it. Skunk cabbages grow in swamps, not rain forests."

"Well, let's take a look around. Something must be causing it to cause this much reek," Mighty said while waving the smell away from his nose.

"You'd think something would be this close if it causes us to gag, ugh," Espio retched.

Espio and Mighty spread out around the clearing, scanning the area for anything that caused the smell. Whatever it was, it wasn't obvious.

"Do you think this smell has anything to do with the missing guy?" Mighty called out.

"I don't know," Espio replied in similar volume. "It sounds pretty dumb to include it into evidence, but this case is already a strange one. Wouldn't surprise me if it did have something to do with it."

Mighty looked at the holopad again. "The team that was here earlier this morning didn't even get a sample of the smell. It was dismissed as unrelated apparently." Mighty looked up at Espio across the clearing. "Even if it was evidence, how could we even get it to evidence?"

"We don't. Forensic science only goes so far. Despite how potent this stink is, there's no way we could ever isolate the smell from the air. That's probably why it was dismissed."

"Yeah, guess the air has too many contaminants to it." Mighty said.

"It always does. What's worse is that this smell is unlike anything I've smelled. I doubt the forensic evidence database has any matches to compare this with—WHOA!" Espio's foot caught on something and he stumbled. However, as he pitched forward, he planted his feet against the ground and leaped forward. Landing on his hands, he vaulted into a crouch with gymnastic perfection.

By that point, Mighty came up and running. "What happened?" Mighty stopped short and saw what tripped up Espio. His gaze drifted right and upwards. "Whoa, what happened here?"

Espio cast his eye at the offending snare, and then he too looked upwards. Espio had tripped over an exposed root, but what was shocking of all was that it looked like it had been ripped out of the ground. Sure enough, the tree it belonged too had been pushed aside into a lean. Half of its roots now stuck up into the air above the torn up earth.

"What has the strength to uproot a tree?" Mighty said. "Besides me?"

"There aren't any wild elephants in this jungle, so what would push this over." Espio placed a hand on the trunk of the tree, but then scowled as his eye caught something. "Mighty, look at this."

Mighty climbed his way over the roots and torn earth to reach Espio. When he reached him, he saw Espio looking at the tree, studying it. "What is it?"

"Look here." Espio pointed to where he was looking.

Mighty looked, and blanched. "What the heck is that?"

Mighty and Espio had discovered some strange hair-like follicles caught in the bark of the tree, ashen-black of color and long. Espio plucked some out to look at it. "It looks like some kind of animal hair, but unlike any I've ever seen." Espio sniffed it and promptly retched. "Ugh, now we know where the smell is from."

"The hair?"

"Whatever left it." Espio pulled out a bag from a pouch in his belt. "Something big pushed this tree down, and was around this area."

Mighty crossed his arms. "You think this is really part of the case?"

"I don't think so, but something was here…and I intend to find out what." Espio collected several pieces of hair and placed them in a sealable bag. "Now, let's check out the scene some more before we head back. I want to get a look at that footprint, and see if it's the same thing that left this." Espio held the bag up for emphasis.

Mighty nodded. "Sure, but let's do it quick. The smell's starting to get to me."

Suddenly, a rolling boom shook the sky and the ground underfoot, followed by a loud whoosh like a stiff wind. "What was that, thunder?" Espio said, scanning the sky.

"No, it was a sonic boom."

Mighty and Espio looked at each other. "Sonic."

Mighty put a hand to his head. "Just great, our favorite hedgehog is checking out the place. No doubt he's here to find out what's going on. You know how nosy he is."

Espio groaned as well. "Yeah, I hope he's at least smart enough not to contaminate a crime scene."

"Or at least stay away from it. Why did he have to come here?"

"Just like Sonic to crash the party. Come on, let's get out of here before Sonic drops by. Much as I like the guy, only thing he'll do here is annoy us to death."


End file.
